While penalties are a crucial part of football, they often tend to inflate the end product of attackers. A more reliable measure of the productivity of top attackers is non-penalty goals. Add that to assists and we get a much clearer picture of their effectiveness. (THREAD)

With that in mind, let's take a look at the most productive individual campaigns across different leagues in the 21st by using non-penalty goals and assists per 90 minutes (referred to as NPG+A/90) as a measure. Be prepared to see quite a few surprising names in the list!

Firstly, let's look at the most productive campaigns in this century. Messi dominates the list with eight of his seasons ranking among the best. His 1.8 NPG+A/90 has yet to be surpassed this century even though Zlatan did a great job trying to match it! #FCB #Barca #PSG

A special mention to young Jadon Sancho as well, who has matched some of the best seasons in football history at the tender age of 19. Whoever gets him will be a very lucky club. Even better is Mbappe, with the two poised to dominate world football in the near future. #BVB #PSG

As an exercise, let's exclude Messi and Ronaldo from the list and look at it again. A lot of interesting names such as Klose, Muller and Mertens pop out. The most intriguing, however, is Atalanta's Ilicic. He has coupled his style with devastating end product!

Moving on to individual leagues, let's take a look at the Premier League first. Suarez's stunning 2013-14 campaign just pips Henry's 04-05 to the top spot. Despite being unfairly criticized for his end product, Drogba finds himself twice on this list. #LFC #AFC #CFC

Fabregas and de Bruyne are the only midfielders on the list, a testament to their attacking prowess. Sturridge's presence in the top 10 really makes one wonder how good he could have been had it not been for injuries.

In La Liga, it is not a surprise to see Messi and Ronaldo dominating once again. However, in between the two giants are other fantastic footballers like Suarez, Benzema, Bale and Higuain who all enjoyed some fabulous campaigns in Spain. #FCB #RMA

Serie A is dominated by unexpected yet interesting names. Ilicic and Mertens made full use of the attacking systems provided by Gasperini and Sarri respectively to post amazing numbers. The legendary Roberto Baggio ran back the clock to star at 34. #Juve #Inter #Napoli #Roma

Salah averaged almost 1 NPG+A/90 at Roma at the age of 24! In tandem with Dzeko, Salah dominated Serie A with the duo scoring or creating at will. In getting him for just £35m, Liverpool pulled off one of the bargains of the decade. #LFC #Roma

PSG's strength in Ligue 1 is visible in the list. Looking beyond that, Slimani's presence is surprising but is backed by his stunning creative numbers, with the Algerian second on the assists list this season. Thauvin and Depay also deserve respect for their output. #PSG #OL #OM

Many of Bundesliga's best ever seasons are unfolding in front of our eyes this season. It is a testament to the attacking depth in the league that youngsters such as Sancho, Gnabry and Nkunku are distributed across the league instead of playing for the same team. #FCB #BCB #RBL

It's time for special focus on three players. Firstly, Luis Suarez. Suarez has accumulated remarkable numbers wherever he has been and has consistently averaged over a goal contribution per 90, a remarkable stat. He is doubtless one of the best strikers ever. #LFC #FCB #Ajax

Ronaldo's chart is a testament to his consistency and desire to score. His goal-scoring ability and winning mentality helped United and Madrid end their league title droughts. His contributions in 14-15, when Barca won the treble, are extremely underrated. #MUFC #RMA #Juve

While numbers do not come close to describing Messi as a player, his dominance over the rest of the league is nevertheless visible in this chart. He has not had one season since 08-09 where he has averaged lower than 1 NPG+A/90, an unbelievable statistic! #FCB

A lot of time and effort went into making these charts. As always, I'd be really grateful for RTs and feedback. Please don't forget to drop a follow for more charts like these!

Data as always has been taken from @fbref. Their remarkable work deserves all the appreciation we can give!